Each step echoed against the cool cobble concrete walls of the dungeon. Kyrie clutched her necklace tighter the deeper she went, walking past empty cells on both sides.
It was chaos less than a day ago. Nero had gifted Kyrie the necklace after her performance for the ceremony then his arm flashed blue and a man in red fell from the ceiling. Said man killed Pope Sanctus and some of the guards only to be halted by Nero's intervention. The man in Red escaped while Nero… was detained.
Why, she wondered as she turned into a darker hallway.
Nero committed no crime save for some property damage which, given the already dire situation, was of little matter. It was not Credo that ordered for Nero's arrest but his colleague: Agnus.
What was that blue flash, she thought, Why did the man in Red look so much like Nero?
Kyrie demanded that Credo tell her where Nero was held and what crime he commited for such treatment. Her usually stern and eloquent brother stuttered while answering as if he was also shocked. The dungeons at Fortuna Castle, he said, Agnus said that no visitors are allowed.
Like that would stop me, Kyrie thought bitterly. Nero was really rubbing off on her.
She heard the rattle of chains at the furthest cell in the dimly lit hallway. Picking up her pace she walked towards the cell and peered inside only to see Nero, blindfolded, shackled, and collared to the floor of what it seems to be a pentagram glowing an amber colour. When she called his name, Nero perked up his head to the direction of where she was standing outside his locked cell.
"Kyr-" he started, only for him to suddenly jolt and convulse on the floor, opening his mouth as if to scream but with no sound coming out.
"You don't want to do that," came a distant voice. Kyrie turned her head to see Sanctus, alive and well. She held in her shock as he strolled up beside her, watching Nero wither in pain for the following minute. To Kyrie, it felt like hours.
"Young Nero is unwell, " Sanctus explained as he watched Nero take in his breaths, "his fight against Dante cursed him to have that arm. "
Krie knew that was a lie. Nero's arm had been in a cast for the past weeks. Dante is a recent development. With a poker face, she asked, "Then why the chains and collar? Nero is no dog or criminal, he's a human."
Sanctus turned to her and smiled. Something that she once knew to be warm felt cold and evil. "Nero is possessed by Dante's demonic minions. All those… accessories are merely for Nero and our safety."
Lies.
"Agnus will cure him soon." She needed to get Nero out of there.
"For Nero's health, " he turned and started walking down the hallway, gesturing for Kyrie to follow, "let us go upstairs and pray to the Saviour."
She glanced at Nero, all chained and sweaty, and silently promised to come back for him after figuring out a plan quickly following after the old man. She heard the chains shake but if Nero said something, she was too far away to hear it.
She saw, however, a flash of Red quickly pass one of the dungeon windows.